1. FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to beverage bottles, specifically to facilitate drinking through a straw already contained in the bottle.
2. DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Beverages contained in bottles present some inconvenience. Since most people like to drink them using a straw and straws don't come with the beverage, consumers are required to ask for straws or often to buy them separately. Furthermore, since they come in individual wraps one is required to use his/her fingers to tear off the protective wrap and insert the straw in the bottle. This process of touching the straw could be unhealthy if the person drinking it does not have a properly washed hand.
Some bottles for example, come with top closures or caps made of metal that sometimes rust leaving the neck of the bottle with deposits of rust and if one sips directly from it an unhealthy situation could be created.
On the other hand, my invention combines convenience and hygiene at the same time. Since the floating straw is not required to be held by fingers, one will be able to drink his/her beverage safely in a clean way without being worried even if his/her hands are not clean.
Many inventions were conceived and patented in this field:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 2,837,234 Mainiere 6/03/58 3,099,565 Neuhauser 7/30/63 3,326,695 Neuhauser 6/20/67 3,291,331 Grisham 12/13/66 3,776,458 Chunga 12/04/73 ______________________________________
Mainiere discloses a straw in a bottle, but his invention requires the design of the cap to be changed making bottle producers spend extra money for the design and besides, his designs are for caps that are not in extensive use nowadays. The simple and plain straw used by Mainiere will not come up fast if the level of the liquid goes down.
Neuhauser U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,565 discloses a bell shaped cone attached to the straw downwardly, with the straw being raised by the cone capturing the gases liberated from the effervescence of the beverage. This invention if used with non-effervescent beverages will not work. Furthermore, if the level of the liquid goes down and the beverage has liberated most of its gases the straw will not come up easily.
Neuhauser U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,695 discloses a similar bell shaped cone as in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,565 and for the same reasons the straw will not come up easily if the beverage is non-effervescent or if the level of the liquid goes down. The straw in this invention is coated with a soluble material which presents extra costs to the manufacturers.
Grisham U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,331 discloses a pop-up straw for bottles with an "invaginable portion" (as mentioned by him in his specification) that upon opening the cap, it forces the straw to come up by pressure. This invention is complicated and costly for just a drinking experience, and besides it does not give the drinker the option of drinking directly from the bottle (without the straw) if he/she wants to.
Chunga U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,458 discloses the most complicated of all inventions in this field. It uses a coil spring to extend a telescopic straw when the cap of the bottle is opened. This apparatus is too complicated and costly, therefore not viable to be used commercially.
While the patents listed above present straws contained in a bottle, none of the above patents presents a floating ball or a buoy to raise the straw to a drinking position. A floating ball raises the straw more rapidly and efficiently than others even when the level of the liquid is low and it does not matter if the beverage is carbonated or not. The straw has a flexible portion to give the drinker a better drinking position.
Compared to other inventions in this field, The Beverage Bottle With Floating Straw is the most inexpensive and reliable one. Consisting of a flexible portion, a floating ball, a ring, a washer, and a straw guide that guides the straw accurately to the opening of the bottle, it is simple enough to give consumers a safe and a pleasurable drinking experience.